Merrick celebrated her 100th birthday Monday surrounded by flowers from well-wishers and with a chocolate and pistachio mousse cake, a gift from
Balducci's
grocers.

"I read The
New York Times
every morning, at least as much of it as I can get through," Merrick said as she sat in her Ridgefield apartment.

Merrick, who still lives at home, is reaping the benefits of work she did 50 years ago as president of the then-
District Nursing Association
.

"I moved the association from a dark one-room office on the third floor of a Main Street building to the house and barn on Catoonah Street where the
Thrift Shop
now is," Merrick recalled. "I prepared the organization for Medicare involvement, and they sailed on from there famously."

Thanks to Merrick's work in the late 1950s, elderly residents of Ridgefield were able to stay in their homes with the help of the DNA.

"Mrs. Merrick was living totally independently until six months ago," said
Laura Giovannozli
, a registered nurse with the RVNA and Merrick's case manager. "Then, we set a home healthcare and personal needs care plan in place, tailored to her needs."

Now a home health aide and a housekeeper come during the week, and Giovannozli visits.

She was there today bringing a roast chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and green beans to share with Merrick as her birthday lunch.

Merrick has mixed feeling about the assistance.

"In the beginning it was terrible," Merrick said with a twinkle in her eye and a chuckle. "They were coming in flocks."

The RVNA is doing for Merrick what they do for hundreds of elderly and home-bound residents in the Greater Ridgefield community.

"They are the best nursing agency in the state of Connecticut. There's no question about it," Merrick said. "They're doing a wonderful job."

The feeling is mutual.

"Helene Merrick is a remarkable woman," said
Bill Wyman
, chairman of the RVNA Board of Directors. "She established the RVNA as it runs today. She has set the tone for everything we do."